The Well-Tempered Ear
This Saturday afternoon, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir presents a free online parking lot concert of “Car Carols” with an emphasis on African-American composers
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
Join the Wisconsin Chamber Choir (below) this Saturday afternoon, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m. for Car Carols, a unique holiday concert featuring live, socially-distanced performances of music by African-American composers and seasonal favorites.
Choir members will sing from their individual cars using wireless microphones (below), listening to the sound of the whole choir via their car radios. The audience is invited to join our Facebook event or listen in live on YouTube.
There is no charge to view the live-stream, but donations would be welcome.
You can find the concert on this Saturday, Dec. 12, a 2 p.m. via the following links: live on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ZonVn1cvgb8, or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1561155960751974/
This unusual concert format was necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the WCC is grateful for the opportunity to continue singing together in safe ways.
Since September, the choir has been rehearsing as a Parking Lot Choir, generating local media coverage from WKOW-TV at https://wkow.com/2020/10/13/wisconsin-chamber-choir-making-adjustments-to-prepare-for-performance/ and Madison Magazine, whose story was headlined “Forget tailgates, parking lots are for choir practice: https://www.channel3000.com/forget-tailgates-parking-lots-are-for-choir-practice/
This past September and October, smaller groups from the WCC assembled on Saturday mornings at the Warner Park Pavilion to rehearse in widely spaced formations.
They wore specially designed singers masks, and occasionally harmonized with nearby sandhill cranes that seemed unsure what to make of the a cappella music floating through their habitat.
Recordings by five distinct small ensembles — minus the cranes — will be aired during the Dec. 12 Car Carols broadcast, in addition to live singing by the Parking Lot choristers.
The Car Carols repertoire highlights music by African-American composers spanning nearly a century. Idiomatic pieces in the style of spirituals and contemporary gospel alternate with “non-idiomatic” motets and anthems by Nathaniel Dett (below top), William Dawson, Undine Smith Moore (below middle) and Carlos Simon (below bottom, with an oral self-portrait in the YouTube video at the bottom).
The remainder of the Parking Lot Choir selections consists of carol arrangements by WCC favorites — the late Stephen Paulus (below) and Peter Blotch — and feature virtual harp and violin accompaniment.
Live and virtual performers will also unite to sing Craig Hella Johnson’s moving arrangement of the songs I Love You and What a Wonderful World.
Interspersed between the live Car Carols will be a wide variety of pre-recorded selections, including the world premiere of WCC member Linda Palmer’s arrangement of Sussex Carol, plus music by Johannes Brahms, John Rutter, 17th-century female composer Chiara Cozzolani (below), and Tleycantimo choquilia, a carol from colonial-era Mexico, sung in Spanish and Nahuatl.
Founded in 1998, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir has established a reputation for excellence in the performance of oratorios by Bach, Handel, Mozart and Brahms; a cappella works from various centuries; and world-premieres.
Artistic director Robert Gehrenbeck (below), who heads the choral program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, has been hailed by critics for his vibrant and emotionally compelling interpretations of a wide variety of choral masterworks. WCC members have acknowledged Gehrenbeck for his intrepid conducting in freezing temperatures during Parking Lot Choir rehearsals.
Tags: #ACappella, #African-AmericanComposer, #AltoSinger, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueOratorio, #BassSinger, #BlackComposer, #Blackcomposers, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarCarols, #CarlosSimon, #ChamberChoir, #ChiaraCozzolani, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianReligion, #ChristmasCarol, #ContemporaryComposer, #COVID-19, #CraigHellaJohnson, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposer, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GospelMusic, #HolidayConcert, #HolidayMusic, #ILoveYou, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnRutter, #LindaPalmer, #LiveStreaming, #MadisonMagazine, #MexicanComposer, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicalStyle, #MusicCritic, #NahuatlLanguage, #NathanielDett, #NegroSpiritual, #NewMusic, #OnlineConcert, #ParkingLot, #PeterBloesch, #RecordedMusic, #RobertGehrenbeck, #SandhillCranes, #SaturdayAfternoon, #SaturdayMorning, #SeasonalMusic, #SingAlong, #SocialDistance, #SociallyDistanced, #SopranoSinger, #StephenPaulus, #SussexCarol, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #UndineSmithMoore, #UniversityofWisconsin, #VirtualConcert, #WarnerPark, #WhataWonderfulWorld, #WilliamDawson, #WisconsinChamberChoir, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, 17th century, a cappella, accompaniment, African American, African-American music, afternoon, air, aired, alternate, alto, announcement, anthem, arrangement, Artistic director, Arts, assemble, audience, auto, automobile, Bach, baritone, Baroque, bass singer, black, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Brahms, Broadcast, car, Car Carols, Carlos Simon, Carol, century, Chamber choir, Chiara Cozzolani, Choir, choral, choral music, choristers, Christian, Christmas, Classical music, colonial, compelling, composer, Concert, Conducting, conductor, contemporary, continue, coverage', Craig Hella Johnson, critic, Dawson, design, Dett, director, distinct, donation, Early music, earlymusic, emotional, enemble, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, favorites, female, female composer, floating, formation, forward, freezing, George Frideric Handel, gospel, habitat, hail, Handel, harmonize, harp, highlight, holiday concert, holiday music, I Love You, idiomatic, individual, interpretation, intrepid, ivited, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Rutter, join, like, Linda Palmer, link, listen, live, live-stream, livestream, local, Love, Madison, Madison Magazine, masks, Masterworks, media, members, Mexican, Mexico, microphone, mixed, Moore, morning, motet, moving, Mozart, Music, music critic, musical style, Nahuatl, Nathaniel Dett, Negro spiritual, New Music, non-idiomatic, October, online, oral, oratorio, parking lot, Paulus, pavilion, Peter Bloesch, portrait, post, practice, pre-recorded, premiere, program, recorded music, recording, rehearsal, rehearse, reminder, repertoire, repertory, reputation, Robert Gehrenbeck, rsdio, Rutter, sage, sandhill cranes, Saturday, seasonal, seasonal music, selections, self-portrait, September, share, Simon, sing, sing-along, singers, Singing, small, social distance, socially distanced, soprano, space, spaced, span, Spanish, spceially, spiritual, spirituals, Stephen Paulus, style, sung, Sussex Carol, tag, televison, temperature, tenor, The Ear, TV, unique, unite, United States, University of Wisconsin, unsure, Uridine Smith Moore, UW-Whitewater, variety, vibrant, Violin, violinist, virtual, vocal music, Warner Park, welcome, What a Wonderful World, wide, William Dawson, wireless, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Choir, WKOW TV, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wonderful, work, world, world premiere, YouTube
Pianist Jeremy Denk combines first-rate playing with innovative programs. He performs a virtual online recital this Friday night for the Wisconsin Union Theater
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Jeremy Denk (below) is not only one of the top pianists on the concert stage today. He is also one of the most interesting and thoughtful pianists when it comes to original, innovative and eclectic programming.
Denk will display his talents again when he performs his third solo recital in Madison this Friday night, Dec. 11, for the Wisconsin Union Theater.
The concert of music by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Missy Mazzoli is at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a public Q&A at 7 p.m. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, both the discussion and the concert will be virtual and online.
Access to the online posting is $20 for the general public, $17 for Wisconsin Union members, and $10 for students.
Denk’s performance, which is part of the Theater’s 101st Annual Concert Series, will include “Papillons” (Butterflies), Op. 2, by Robert Schumann; Three Romances, Op. 21, by Clara Schumann; “Bolts of Loving Thunder” by the contemporary American composer Missy Mazzoli (below); and Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119, by Johannes Brahms. (You can hear Denk play the lyrically introspective first intermezzo of Brahms’ late Op. 119 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
To purchase tickets to Denk’s performance, visit https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk/
Ticket buyers will receive an email from the box office approximately 2 hours before the event begins that will contain their link to view the performance. Anyone who purchases a ticket within 2 hours of the event’s start time will receive their email within 15 minutes of purchase.
To The Ear, Denk’s well-planned and fascinating program seems like a probing contrast-and-compare, narrative exploration of the musical styles and close personal relationships – a kind of love triangle — between Robert and Clara Schumann (below top); between Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, whom Robert Schumann championed; and between Brahms and Clara Schumann, who also championed Brahms (below bottom) but rejected him as a lover and suitor after the premature death of her husband Robert.
One of America’s foremost pianists, Denk is a winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the Avery Fisher Prize, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In the United States, Denk has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra and frequently performs at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has toured with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and performed at Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
Denk’s talents include writing about music. Some of his stories about music have been featured on the front page of The New York Times Book Review as well as in The New Yorker, The New Republic and The Guardian. Many of those writings form the basis for a forthcoming book.
His passion for composing both music and writing compositions is evident in his music-based blog “Think Denk” — “to think” in German is “denizen” — which dates back to 2005.
“Jeremy Denk is one of the greatest pianists of our generation,” says WUT director Elizabeth Snodgrass. “While many pianists specialize in a particular period or composer, Jeremy is a musical omnivore whose wide-ranging interests span centuries and styles, and he is exceptional at playing all of them. As The New York Times said, he is ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs.’”
Proof of that can be found in the program “c. 1300-c. 2000” he toured with and recorded last year for Nonesuch, which features a sampling tour of 700 years of keyboard compositions.
Said a critic for the Boston Globe: “Denk has “an unerring sense of the music’s dramatic structure and a great actor’s intuition for timing.”
This performance was made possible by the David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Endowment Fund.
Learn more about Jeremy Denk at: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website
For more information and a video clip of Denk playing different Brahms, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk/
Tags: #AcademyofSt.MartinintheFields, #AmericanAcademyofArtsandSciences, #AmericanComposer, #AveryFisherPrize, #BBCProms, #Beautifulmusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoltsofLovingThunder, #BoxOffice, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ClevelandOrchestra, #ConcertStage, #ConsortLoanProgram, #Contrast-and-Compare, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidandKatoPerlmanChamberMusicSeries, #DramaticStructure, #ElizabethSnodgrass, #EmailAddress, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Fridaynight, #FrontPage, #GeniusGrant, #HomeWebsite, #husband-and-wife, #InstagramPost, #JacobStockinger, #JeremyDenk, #JohannesBrahms, #LastYear, #LosAngeles, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LoveTriangle, #MacArthurFellow, #MacArthurFoundation, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MissyMazzoli, #MusicalStyle, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #NewYorkTimesBookReview, #NonesuchRecords, #OnlineConcert, #PersonalRelationship, #PianoIntermezzi, #PianoMusic, #RecordedMusic, #RobertSchumann, #RoyalAlbertHall, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #StartTime, #TheEar, #TheGuardian, #TheNewRepublic, #TheNewYorker, #TheU.S., #TheUW, #ThinkDenk, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #WiscnsinUnionTheater, #World-famous, #YouTubevideo, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, access, Actor, American, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Arts, audience, Avery Fisher Prize, basis, BBC, BBC Proms, beautiful, best, blog, Bolts of Loving Thunder, Book, box office, Brahms, butterflies, Carnegie Hall, centuries, Chamber music, champion, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Clara Schumann, Classical music, Cleveland, Cleveland Orchestra, clip, compare, composer, compositions, Concert, concert stage, concerto, contemporary, contrast, coronavirus, David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series, Denk, discussion, display, drama, dramatic, Early music, eclectic, Elizabeth Snodgrass, email, event, evident, exceptional, exploration, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fascinating, form, forthcoming, forward, Friday, front page, generation, genius grant, German, great, greatest, handful, hear, home website, husband, information, innovate, innovative, Instagram, interesting, interests, intermezzo, international, introspective, intuition, investigation, Jacob Stockinger, Jeremy Denk, Johannes Brahms, Kato Perlman, Keyboard, last year, late, learn, like, link, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Love, love triangle, lover, loving, lyrical, MacArthur Fellow, MacArthur Foundation, Madison, Mazzoli, Mead Witter School of Music, member, minutes, Missy Mazzoli, Music, musical, musical style, narrative, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, night, Nonesuch Records, omnivore, online, original, pandemic, Papillons, particular, Passion, perform, performance, period, personal, personal relationship, Pianist, Piano, piano music, pieces, playing, post, posting, precede, probing, program, programming, public, purchase, Q&A, question-and-answer, receive, recital, record, recorded music, reject, relationship, rhapsody, Robert Schumann, Romance, Royal Albert Hall, sample, sampling, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Schumann, sense, share, solo, spans, specialist, specialize, start, story, structure, Student, style, suitor, tag, talent, The Ear, The Guardian, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Think Denk, thoughtful, time, timing, tour, triangle, Twitter, U.S., unerring, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, view, virtual, want, Website, well-planned, wife, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, writing, WUT, you, YouTube
The Pro Arte Quartet plays the fourth installment of its FREE Beethoven string quartet cycle online TONIGHT at 7:30 CDT
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The historic Pro Arte Quartet, in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will perform the fourth installment of its FREE Beethoven string quartet cycle TONIGHT — Friday, Oct. 23 — at 7:30 p.m. CDT. (It should be posted for about a day, but will not be archived due to copyright considerations.)
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the live concert will take place online and will be live-streamed without an audience from the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the new Hamel Music Center.
You can stream it live from https://youtu.be/IhmNRNiI3RM
The whole series of concerts are part of the Pro Arte Quartet’s yearlong retrospective to celebrate the Beethoven Year. This December marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer (below).
Members of the Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) are: David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violins; Sally Chisholm, viola; and Parry Karp, cello.
A pre-concert lecture by UW-Madison musicology Professor Charles Dill (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) starts at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
The program consists of one early and one late quartet: the string Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18 No. 4 (1798-1800), and you can hear the first movement played by the Dover Quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom; and the String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 127 (1825).
The Pro Arte Quartet is one of the world’s most distinguished string quartets. Founded by conservatory students in Brussels in 1912, it became one of the most celebrated ensembles in Europe in the first half of the 20th century and was named Court Quartet to the Queen of Belgium.
Its world reputation blossomed in 1919 when the quartet (below, in 1928) began the first of many tours that enticed notable composers such as Bartok, Barber, Milhaud, Honegger, Martin and Casella to write new works for the ensemble.
The Pro Arte Quartet performs throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia and continues to champion both standard repertoire and new music.
Since being stranded in the U.S. when Belgium was invaded by Hitler and the Nazis in World War II, the group is an ensemble-in-residence at the Mead Witter School of Music and resident quartet of the Chazen Museum of Art.
The quartet, the longest active string quartet in the history of music, has performed at the White House and, during the centennial celebration, played for the King’s Counselor in Belgium.
Recent projects include the complete quartets of Bartok and Shostakovich and, in collaboration with the Orion and Emerson String Quartets, the complete quartets of Beethoven.
Regular chamber music collaborators that perform with Pro Arte include Samuel Rhodes and Nobuko Imai, viola; Bonnie Hampton, cello; and the late Leon Fleischer and Christopher Taylor, piano.
Together since 1995, the quartet has recorded works of Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Rhodes, Shapey, Sessions, Fennelly, Diesendruck, Lehrdahl and the centennial commissions.
For more information and background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-beethoven-string-quartet-cycle-program-iv/
For more about the challenges and modifications – including wearing masks and social distancing — of doing the Beethoven cycle for the virtual online performances and about the other dates and programs in the cycle, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/09/29/classical-music-uw-madisons-pro-arte-quartet-to-resume-its-free-beethoven-cycle-virtual-and-online-this-friday-night-with-two-other-programs-this-semester/
Tags: #20thCentury, #AdolfHitler, #AlfredoCasella, #AntoninDvorak, #ArthurHonegger, #Artists-in-Residence, #BeethovenYear, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BonnieHampton, #BrusselsBelgium, #CentralDaylightTime, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesDill, #ChazenMuseumofArt, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClassicalMusician, #CommissionedMusic, #CompactDisc, #CompleteCycle, #ConcertProgram, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DariusMilhaud, #DavidPerry, #DoverQuartet, #EmersonStringQuartet, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FrankMartin, #FredLehrdahl, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HistoricalContext, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JuilliardSchool, #JuilliardStringQuartet, #LeonFleisher, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicalStyle, #MusicProfessor, #Nazi-occupied, #NaziGermany, #NewMusic, #NobukoImai, #OnlineConcert, #OrionStringQuartet, #ParryKarp, #Pre-concertLecture, #ProArteQuartet, #RalphShapey, #RecordedMusic, #RogerSessions, #RoyalConservatory, #SallyChisholm, #SamuelBarber, #SamuelRhodes, #SocialDistancing, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #TheUSA, #TheUW, #TheWhiteHouse, #TokyoJapan, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #WhiteHouse, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WorldWarII, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, Alfredo Casella, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, archive, Arthur Honegger, Arts, Asia, audience, background, Barber, Bartok, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birth, blog, blossom, Bonnie Hampton, Brussels, Casella, CDs, CDT, celebrated, cellist, Cello, centennial, Central Daylight Time, challenges, Chamber music, Charles Dill, Chazen Museum of Art, China, Christopher Taylor, Classical music, classicalmusic, collaborator, commission, commissioned, Compact Disc, composer, Concert, conservatory, consideration, copyright, coronavirus, counselor, court, cycle, Darius Milhaud, date, David Perry, day, Diesendruck, distinguished, Dover Quartet, Dvorak, early, Emerson String Quartet, ensemble, Europe, exile, Facebook, Felix Mendelssohn, Fennelly, first, forward, founded, Frank Martin, Fred Lehrdahl, free, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, historic, Hitler, Honegger, information, invaded, invasion, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Juilliard String Quartet, Julliard School, King, late, lecture, Lehrdahl, Leon Fleisher, like, link, live, live music, live-stream, live-streamed, livestream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mark, Martin, mask, masks, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, Mendelssohn, Milhaud, modification, movement, muisicians, Music, musical style, Musician, musicology, Nazi, New Music, Nobuko Imai, online, Orion String Quartet, pandemic, Parry Karp, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, Pro Ate Quartet, professor, program, queen, Ralph Shapey, record, recorded music, repertoire, repertory, reputation, residence, retrospective, Rhodes, Roger Sessions, Royal Conservatory, Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Sally Chisholm, Samuel Barber, Samuel Rhodes, series, Sessions, Shapey, share, social distancing, standard, stranded, String quartet, Suzanne Beia, tag, The Ear, The White House, Tokyo, tonight, tour, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, US, USA, UW, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, violoncello, virtual, Website, White House, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, works, world, World War II, yearlong, YouTube
Classical music: The Pro Arte Quartet minus one plays string trios this Friday night and Sunday afternoon, then starts its Beethoven string quartet cycle on Friday, Nov. 22. Plus 3 UW profs premiere a new fusion work tonight
Leave a Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
CORRECTION: The all-Telemann concert by the Madison Bach Musicians on this Saturday night at the First Unitarian Society of Madison is at 8 p.m. — NOT 7:30 as it was mistakenly listed in the early version of yesterday’s post. The Ear apologizes for the error. The pre-concert lecture is at 7:15 p.m. There is also a performance on Sunday at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton at 3:30 p.m., with a lecture at 2:45 p.m. For more information, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/10/02/classical-music-how-did-baroque-composer-telemann-get-overshadowed-and-why-is-he-being-rediscovered-trevor-stephenson-talks-about-his-all-telemann-concerts-this-weekend/
ALERT: TONIGHT, Thursday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m., three UW-Madison music professors — Anthony Di Sanza (percussion), Tom Curry (tuba, keyboard and electronics) and Mark Hetzler (trombone and electronics) — will perform their new composition “Don’t Look Down” at the Arts + Literature Laboratory, located at 2021 Winnebago Street on Madison’s near east side. (Phone is 608 556-7415.)
The trio’s goal to showcase their instruments using a combination of electro-acoustic techniques, improvisation and traditional chamber music applications to create an array of sonic environments and musical languages.
The result is a work that looks at the impact of media and technology on society, while featuring shifting soundscapes and a variety of styles including classical, rock, jazz and experimental.
Tickets are $10 in advance at: https://dontlookdown.brownpapertickets.com; and $15 at the door. Student tickets are $5 off with a valid school ID. Advance ticket sales end one hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
First, a news flash: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s critically acclaimed Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) will begin its complete cycle of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets on Friday, Nov. 22.
The program, time and other dates are not available yet, but should be announced soon.
The performances are part of the 2020 Beethoven Year, which will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Stayed tuned for more details.
This Friday night, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, three members of the Pro Arte will perform a FREE concert of string trios. Performers are second violinist Suzanne Beia, violist Sally Chisholm and cellist Parry Karp.
Featured on the program are: the Serenade in C Major, Op. 10 (1902), by the Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnanyi (below top); the String Trio, Op. 48 (1950), by the Polish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg (below bottom); and the Serenade in D Major, Op. 8 (1796-97), by Ludwig van Beethoven.) You can hear the opening movement of the Weinberg Trio in the YouTube video at the bottom.
For more information about the quartet and the program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-5/
This Sunday afternoon, the Pro Arte Quartet will also perform FREE at the Chazen Museum of Art on Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen. The same program of string trios will be repeated. The performance will be held starting at 12:30 in the Brittingham Gallery 3.
For details about attending, go to: https://www.chazen.wisc.edu/index.php?/events-calendar-demo/event/sunday-afternoon-live-at-the-chazen9/
It will also be streamed live at the following portal: https://c.streamhoster.com/embed/media/O7sBNG/OS1C0ihJsYK/iqf1vBMs3qg_5
Tags: #AnthonyDiSanza, #ArtsandLiteratureLaboratory, #BeethovenYear, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrittinghamGallery3, #BrittinghamGalleryIII, #ChamberMusic, #ChazenMuseumofArt, #CompleteCycle, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #EastSide, #ElectronicMusic, #ErnstvonDohnanyi, #ExperimentalMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #HighTechnology, #HolyWisdomMonastery, #HungarianComposer, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonWisconsin, #MarkHetzler, #MassMedia, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #MusicalStyle, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessors, #NewMusic, #NewsFlash, #ParryKarp, #PercussionMusic, #PolishComposer, #ProArteQuartet, #RockMusic, #SallyChisholm, #SecondViolin, #StreamedLive, #StringQuartet, #StringTrio, #Sundayafternoon, #SundayAfternoonLiveattheChazen, #SuzanneBeia, #TomCurry, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #YouTubevideo, acoustic, anniversary, Anthony Di Sanza, application, array, Arts, Arts and Literature Laboratory, audience, Austria, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birth, blog, Brittingham, Brittingham Gallery 3, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chazen, Chazen Museum of Art, Classical music, classicalmusic, complete, composer, Concert, create, critically acclaimed, cycle, date, details, doors, east side, electro, Electro-Acoustic, electronic, environment, Ernst von Dohnanyi, experimental, Facebook, faculty member, flash, Forst Unitarian Society of Madison, Georg Philipp Telemann, Germany, Holy Wisdom Monastery, Hungarian, Hungary, ID, impact, improvisation, information, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Keyboard, languages, lecture, literature, live streaming, look, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Mark Hetzler, mass media, Mead Witter School of Music, media, member, Middleton, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Music, music faculty, music professor, musical, musical style, New Music, news, Parry Karp, percussion, performer, phone, Poland, Polish, portal, post, posting, premiere, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, Quartet, result, Rock, Sally Chisholm, school, second violin, Serenade, shift, show, society, sonic, soundscape, streamed live, String quartet, string trio, stuydent, style, Sunday, Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen, Suzanne Beia, technique, technology, tickets, time, Tom Curry, trio, Trombone, Tuba, tuned, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, valid, variety, version, Vienna, Viola, Violin, violist, Wisconsin, work, yesterday, YouTube
Classical music: How did Baroque composer Telemann get overshadowed and why is he being rediscovered? Trevor Stephenson talks about his all-Telemann concerts this weekend
2 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Bach Musicians (MBM) will give two performances of a concert devoted exclusively to the music of Baroque composer Georg Philip Telemann (below).
The performances are: Saturday night, Oct. 5, at 8 p.m. in the Atrium Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, where MBM will be artists-in-residence this season; the second performance is on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 6, at 3:30 p.m. at the Holy Wisdom Monastery, 4200 County Road M, in Middleton.
Tickets are $35 in advance and are available at the Willy Street Coop East and West, and at Orange Tree Imports. Tickets at the door are $38 for the general public; $35 for seniors; and $10 for student rush tickets that go on sale 30 minutes before each lecture. The lectures take place 45 minutes before the performance, at 7:15 p.m. and 2:45 p.m, respectively.
Why focus on the music of Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)?
Trevor Stephenson, the founder and director of the Madison Bach Musicians, talks about it in an email Q&A with The Ear:
Why does Telemann, who was so respected in his day, seem to get far less play, fewer performances and less mentioning today than his contemporaries Bach, Vivaldi and Handel?
Telemann was born in 1681 — three years after Vivaldi and four years before Bach and Handel. He was astonishingly prolific and it is estimated that he wrote more than Bach and Handel combined.
On top of this, he was very highly respected and was widely published and performed during his life. Remember, it was Telemann — not Bach — whom the Leipzig council wanted to hire for the music director position in 1723. But Telemann was enjoying his wonderful new post in Hamburg—a thriving port city — and was not about to go back to landlocked Leipzig where he had spent his student days.
At any rate, after the 18th century had passed and its music became somewhat marginalized, in the early 19th century it was Bach’s music, not Telemann’s, that suddenly re-emerged.
Bach’s tremendous emotional depth, contrapuntal mastery and ability to control large-scale forms in an almost heroic way spoke with greater urgency to the Romantic sensibility than did Telemann’s elegant craftsmanship. Indeed, 19th-century Bach scholars often mean-spiritedly used Telemann as a foil for Bach.
Telemann’s music nevertheless received a modicum of performances in the early 20th century, but in the 1980s and 1990s, as the Early Music movement really got rolling—and the level of period-instrument performance increased—it became apparent that Telemann’s music really was hot stuff!
Now his music is enjoying a wonderful and well-deserved revival.
What are the appealing and admirable qualities you see in Telemann’s music? Are there any drawbacks to his compositions?
Telemann had a wonderful sense of melodic invention — probably music’s analog to an artist’s ability to draw — and his tunes seem to flow out effortlessly. And although his output was opulent, he had an uncanny sense of form and how much weight – duration — any given musical scene could bear.
He also was a masterful musical polyglot, able to jump back and forth easily between Italian, French and German musical idioms; and like Bach, he was also adept at integrating them into a unified style—this integration of national styles was a frequently acknowledged goal of 18th-century composers.
Telemann’s limitations are apparent when he is juxtaposed with Handel, who could dramatically really take the roof off and who could also find the inner essence of the human voice, and Bach who, like Shakespeare, through a near alchemy of sound and meaning could consistently define and further what it means to be human.
How and why did you put this program together? What unifies it and what would you like the public to know about it?
Madison Bach Musicians’ concertmaster and assistant artistic director Kangwon Kim (below left with Emily Dupere) did the heavy lifting in putting together this wonderful program of Telemann’s chamber music. MBM will present three of Telemann’s programmatic or story works, one church cantata and three purely instrumental selections.
With narration and graphics, we’ll walk you through how he cleverly depicts scenes from Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726, below), which had been in print only two years when Telemann wrote his topical Gulliver Suite in 1728. Telemann loved ludicrous irony, like the tiny Lilliputians dancing a heavy chaconne—which Telemann notates in a hilarious, confounding mass of 64th and 128th notes. And then there’s the Brobdingnagian giants doing their rendition of a light-footed gigue, rendered in loopy, cumbersome whole notes!
We’ll also present the marvelous Suite Burlesque based upon Cervantes’ Don Quixote (below): Quixote’s love for Dulcinea, his jousting with windmills, and how a crowd mocks Quixote’s faithful, world-weary servant Sancho Panza.
To top it off, guest artist mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski (below) will sing the droll and sweetly amusing cantata about the demise — brought about by the cat! — of a favorite and very artistic canary. Osowski will also sing the church cantata Weicht, ihr Sünden, bleibt dahinten (Yield, You Sins, and Stay Behind Me). Telemann wrote more than 1,000 church cantatas.
The concert includes non-programmatic works for string band: the dramatic and Corelli-esque Sonata à 6 in F minor for two violins, two violas, cello and continuo; and the sparkling Sinfonia Spirituosa (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom). I will also perform some fascinating Fantasy miniatures for solo harpsichord, and will give a pre-concert lecture at both events.
For more information about the program, the performers and tickets, go to: www.madisonbachmusicians.org
Tags: #18thCentury, #19thCentury, #20thCentury, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArcangeloCorelli, #AtriumAuditorium, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueContinuo, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ClaraOsowski, #ClassicalMusician, #ContrapuntalMusic, #DonQuixote, #EarlyMusicMovement, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GuestArtist, #Gulliver'sTravels, #HamburgGermany, #HarpsichordMusic, #HeavyLifting, #HolyWisdomMonastery, #HotStuff, #HumanVoice, #InstrumentalMusic, #JohannSebastianBach, #JonathanSwift, #KangwonKim, #Large-scale, #LeipzigGermany, #MadisonBachMusicians, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MigueldeCervantes, #MusicalStyle, #MusicDirector, #OrangeTreeImports, #PeriodInstrument, #PortCity, #Pre-concertLecture, #RomanticMusic, #SacredCantata, #SacredMusic, #SanchoPanza, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #StringMusic, #Sundayafternoon, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WholeNotes, #WilliamShakepseare, #WillyStreetCoop, #WillyStreetCoopEast, #WillyStreetCoopWest, 18th century, 19th century, 20th-century, ability, afternoon, alchemy, analog, analogue, Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, artist, artist-in-residence, Atrium Auditorium, Bach, band, Baroque, behind, blog, Burlesque, Cantata, cellist, Cello, chaconne, Chamber music, Christian, Christianity, church, Clara Osowski, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, Concert, concertmaster, contemporary, continuo, contrapuntal, control, Corelli, council, counterpoint, craftsmanship, crowd, cumbersome, dance, dancing, days, depth, devoted, Don Quixote, draw, Dulcinea, Early music, elegant, email, emotional, enjoy, exclusive, Facebook, faithful, fantasy, fascinating, First Unitarian Society of Madison, form, forward, French, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, German, giant, giants, gigue, goal, guest artist, Gulliver's Travels, Hamburg, Handel, harpsichord, heavy lifting, heroic, hire, Holy Wisdom Monastery, hot stuff, human voice, idiom, instrumental, interview, invention, irony, Italian, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jonathan Swift, jousting, Kangwon Kim, landlocked, lecture, Leipzig, like, Lilliputian, link, loopy, Love, ludicrous, Madison Bach Musicians, marginalized, marvelous, mastery, me, mean-spirit, meaning, melodic, melody, mention, Mezzo-soprano, Middleton, Miguel de Cervantes, miniature, movement, Music, Music director, musical, musical style, national, night, notes, opulent, Orange Tree Imports, output, performance, performer, period-instrument, play, polyglot, port city, position, post, posting, programmatic, prolific, public, pure, Q&A, rediscover, respect, revival, Romantic, sacred cantata, sacred music, Sancho Panza, Saturday night, scene, scholar, senior, sense, sensibility, servant, Shakespeare, share, sins, solo, Sonata, Sound, story, string, Student, style, subscriber, Suite, Sunday, tag, tickets, tiny, tune, tunes, uncanny, unified, urgency, use, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Vivaldi, vocal music, weight, well-deserved, whole, whole notes, Willy Street Coop, windmill, Wisconsin, wonderfu, world-weary, yield
Classical music: This Friday night, the Wisconsin Union Theater presents a world-class Spanish string quartet and will also announce the special concerts to mark its centennial anniversary next season
2 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Think of it as a two-fer, and then some, at the Wisconsin Union Theater this Friday night, March 1.
The main event is the Madison debut of a world-class string quartet from Spain.
The other event is the announcement of the schedule for the Concert Series’ 2019-2020 season — the series’ 100th season.
The first event is the concert by Cuarteto Casals (below) at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall.
Prices for the event are: the general public, $25-40; for Union members, $25-36; for UW faculty and staff members, $25-38; for young people, $20; and for UW-Madison students, $10. Tickets can be bought online, by phone at 608-265-ARTS (2787) or in person. See locations and hours here.
The program includes the String Quartet in C Major “The Bird,” Op. 33, No. 3, by Franz Joseph Haydn; the String Quartet No. 3 by Bela Bartok; selections from the Fantasies for String Quartet by Henry Purcell; and the String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10, by Claude Debussy. (You can hear the Cuarteto Casals play a movement of a different Haydn string quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Cuarteto Casals was founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofia in Madrid. They are named after great 20th-century Catalan cellist Pau (Pablo) Casals (below). Members of the quartet are Vera Martinez Mehner and Abel Tomas, violins; Jonathan Brown, viola; and Arnau Tomas, cello.
The group achieved international recognition after winning First Prizes at the London and Brahms-Hamburg competitions. After receiving the prestigious Burletti-Buitoni Trust award designed to assist young musicians, the quartet acquired a matching set of Baroque and Classical period bows, used to distinguish between musical styles.
The year 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the quartet, and also the start of a commemorative project: a six-concert series of the complete Beethoven quartets, accompanied by six commissioned works from great composers since the 17th century.
The quartet was selected as ambassadors of Catalan culture by the Generalitat of Catalunya, and accompanies the King of Spain on diplomatic visits.
It is the quartet-in-residence at the Spanish Royal Palace through 2020 and the quartet-in-residence at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Carol Carlson (below) will offer a free pre-concert lecture at 6 p.m. Carol holds both Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from the UW-Madison.
Carlson dedicates herself to music education as co-founder, co-director and teacher of Music con Brio, a non-profit organization that provides affordable violin lessons and equipment for students at Emerson Elementary School in Madison. Music con Brio (below, in a photo by Scott Maurer) will perform on the stage of Shannon Hall from 7 to 7:20 p.m.
This program was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The media sponsor is WORT 89.9 FM.
Tags: #BarcelonaSpain, #BaroquePeriod, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #Burletti-BuitoniTrust, #CarolCarlson, #CatalanCulture, #ChamberMusic, #Classicalperiod, #ClaudeDebussy, #ConcertSeries, #CuartetoCasals, #DoctorofMusicalArts, #EmersonElementarySchool, #EscolaSuperiordeMusicadeCatalunya, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstPrize, #FranzJosephHaydn, #HamburgGermany, #HenryPurcell, #JohannesBrahms, #KingofSpain, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadridSpain, #MasterofMusic, #MediaSponsor, #MusicalStyle, #MusicconBrio, #MusicEducation, #MusicLessons, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NonprofitOrganization, #PabloCasals, #PauCasals, #Quartet-in-Residence, #ShannonHall, #SpanishRoyalPalace, #StateofWiscosnin, #StringQuartet, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #YoungPeople, #YouTubevideo, admission, affordable, ambassador, anniversary, announcement, Arts, audience, award, Barcelona, Baroque, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, bird, blog, bow, Brahms, Burletti-Buitoni Trust, Carol Carlson, Catalan culture, Catalonia, Cello, centennial, Chamber music, Classical, Classical music, Claude Debussy, Compact Disc, Competition, composer, Concert, concert series, Cuarteto Casals, culture, debut, degree, diplomatic, director, Doctor of Musical Arts, Emerson Elementary School, equipment, Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya, event, Facebook, fantasies, fantasy, first prize, forward, founder, Franz Joseph Haydn, free, Hamburg, Henry Purcell, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, King, lecture, lessons, like, link, London, Ludwig van Bethoven, Madison, Madrid, Master of Music, matching, media, member, Music, Music con Brio, Music education, musical style, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, non-profit, organization, Pablo Casals, Pau Casals, performance, performer, period, pre-concert, prestigious, price, public, recognition, schedule, Season, series, set, Shannon Hall, share, Spain, Spanish Royal Palace, sponsor, State of Wisconsin, String quartet, Student, style, tag, Teacher, two-fer, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Union Theater, word, works-class, world-class, WORT, WORT-FM 89.9, young people, YouTube
Classical music: You can celebrate Valentine’s Day this Thursday, Feb. 14, with live concerts of new music or old music in a large hall or a small cafe
2 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
If you are looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day on this coming Thursday, Feb. 14, with live classical music, there are at least two excellent choices facing you.
The larger event is a FREE concert at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall by the UW Symphony Orchestra (below top) under the award-winning conductor and professor Chad Hutchinson (below bottom) and two graduate student conductors, Michael Dolan and Ji Hyun Yim.
The program features the “Valse Triste” (Sad Waltz) by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and the Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
But the main focus will be on two works by the living American composer Augusta Read Thomas (below), who lives in Chicago and whose music is widely performed because of its accessible style.
The two works by Thomas are “Of Paradise and Light” and “Prayer and Celebration.”
Thomas, who this week will be doing a residency at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will also hold a free and open master class in Music Hall, at the base of Bascom Hill, from 2 to 5 p.m. that same day. (You can listen to her discuss how she composes in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information about the concert, the program and especially about Thomas – including an audio sample — go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra/
A BAROQUE VALENTINE’S DAY
On Valentine’s Day, baroque chamber music enthusiasts can hear the music of the Kim-Kielson Duo as they perform a program on period instruments, titled Canons, Chaconnes and Chocolate!
Longtime friends and performers, baroque violinist Kangwon Lee Kim and recorder player Lisette Kielson (below top, right and left respectively) will be joined by viola da gambist James Waldo (below bottom).
The concert is on this Thursday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. at Chocolaterian Cafe, 6637 University Ave., in Middleton.
You can name your own ticket price — $20-$35 per person is suggested, payable in either cash or check.
There also will be Special Valentine’s Day Chocolate available for purchase.
The program celebrates the popular baroque forms of the canon and chaconne as composed by Italian, German and French masters.
The duo will perform three chaconnes by Tarquinio Merula, Antonio Bertali and Marin Marais plus canonic duos by Georg Philipp Telemann as well as an arrangement of canons from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Tags: #AmericanComposer, #AntonioBertali, #AugustaReadThomas, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueRecorder, #BaroqueViolin, #BascomHill, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CashPayment, #ChadHutchinson, #ChocolaterianCafe, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FinnishComposer, #Frenchcomposer, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GermanComposer, #GraduateStudent, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #italianComposer, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #JeanSibelius, #JohannSebastianBach, #KangwonKim, #LisetteKielson, #LivingComposer, #MarinMarais, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MillsHall, #MozartSymphony, #MusicalStyle, #Musicfaculty, #MusicHall, #PeriodInstruments, #PersonalCheck, #ReligionandSpirituality, #SadWaltz, #SymphonyNo.39, #TaquinioMerula, #TheArtofFugue, #UniversityofChicago, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ValentinesDay, #ValseTriste, #VioladaGamba, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accessible, American, American composer, Antonio Bertali, arrangement, audience, Audio, Augusta Read Thomas, award, award-winning, Baroque recorder, Bascom Hill, blog, BWV, Canon, cash, celebrate, celebration, chaconne, Chad Hutchinson, check, Chicago, chocolate, Chocolaterian Cafe, choice, composer, Concert, conductor, counterpoint, discuss, discussion, duo, event, Facebook, faculty, faculty member, Finland, Finnish, Finnish music, forward, free, French, fugue, Georg Philipp Telemann, German, historically informed performance practices, information, Italian, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kangwon Kim, Kochel, large, light, like, link, Lisette Kielson, Living composer, Marin Marais, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Mills Hall, Mozart, Music, Music Hall, musical style, Paradise, pay, payable, performer, period instruments, person, player, prayer, professor, program, purchase, recorder, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, residency, sad waltz, spirituality, style, symphony, Symphony No. 39, Symphony No. 39 in E Flat Major, tag, Taquinio Merula, The Art of Fugue, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Symphony Orchestra, Valentine, Valentine's Day, valse triste, video, viola da gamba, Violin, week, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, YouTube
Classical music: Holiday carols, gospel music and classical music mix at the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas concerts this weekend — which will air later on Wisconsin Public Television for the first time
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
You have to hand it to the Madison Symphony Orchestra for embracing the community and putting on a memorable show.
When it comes to celebrating the holidays – and yes, the MSO does use the Christmas word – the MSO does so with a big variety of musical styles and a wide diversity of performers. That might explain why the concerts usually sell out year after year.
Beginning with caroling in the lobby before the concert to the sing-along finale, where music director and conductor John DeMain and the Madison Symphony Orchestra don their Santa hats (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) and more, “A Madison Symphony Christmas” is a joyous time for all.
Christmas classics are interwoven with enchanting new holiday music featuring members of the Madison Symphony Chorus, the Madison Youth Choirs and the Mount Zion Gospel Choir as well as guests soloists soprano Cecilia Violetta Lopez and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelson.
This tradition marks the embrace and start of the holiday season for many people in Madison.
Performances of “A Madison Symphony Christmas”will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday night, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 2, at 2:30 p.m. Ticket details are below.
In addition, 45 minutes before each concert, audiences are invited to share the spirit of the holiday season singing carols along with the Madison Symphony Chorus.
TV PREMIERE
For the first time, “A Madison Symphony Christmas”can be experienced again in December — airing on Wisconsin Public Television (NOT Wisconsin Public Radio as mistakenly listed in an earlier edition) on Monday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m., and on Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, at 9:30 p.m.
“Our annual Christmas concert has become a very meaningful experience for everyone involved — the choruses, orchestra musicians, singers and the audience,” says DeMain. “With the Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, Madison Youth Choirs, and Madison Symphony Chorus joining our internationally acclaimed opera singers, and climaxing with the entire audience participating in our Christmas carol sing-along — one cannot help but leave the Overture Hall with a feeling that the holiday season has begun. And hopefully, you will have a big glow in your heart.”
For more information and the full program, which includes the excerpt from Handel’s “Messiah” in the YouTube video at the bottom, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas/
ABOUT THE SOLOISTS
Celebrated soprano Cecilia Violetta Lopez (below, in a photo by Devon Cass) has been named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News.
Lopez has received accolades for her signature role of Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, which she has performed countless times throughout North America.
Her debut of the role was with Martina Arroyo Foundation’s prestigious summer festival, Prelude to Performance. She has also performed the role with Opera Tampa, Opera Idaho, Ash Lawn Opera, and in her company debut with Virginia Opera. Lopez also recently made her European debut as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Zomeropera in Belgium.
Based in the Madison suburb of Sun Prairie, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (below, in a photo by Lawrence Brownlee) is in frequent demand by the world’s leading opera companies and orchestras for his vibrant and handsome stage presence and his distinctive vocalism.
He has won first prize in several international vocal competitions, including those sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation (Career Grant), the George London Foundation, the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, the Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, and the MacAllister Awards.
Highlights of Ketelsen’s recent seasons include performances at the Opernhaus Zurich, Staatsoper Berlin, Minnesota Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera, as well as performances with the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony and performances at Carnegie Hall.
ABOUT THE MADISON SYMPHONY CHORUS
The Madison Symphony Chorus (below top, in a photo by Greg Anderson) gave its first public performance on February 23, 1928 and has performed regularly with the Madison Symphony Orchestra ever since. The Chorus is comprised of more than 150 volunteer musicians who come from all walks of life and enjoy combining their artistic talent under the direction of Beverly Taylor (below bottom), who directs the choral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
ABOUT THE MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) inspires enjoyment, learning and social development through the study and performance of high-quality and diverse choral literature. The oldest youth choir organization in Wisconsin, MYC serves more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, in a wide variety of choral programs. In addition to a public concert series, MYC conducts an annual spring tour of schools and retirement centers, performing for more than 7,000 students and senior citizens annually.
ABOUT THE MOUNT ZION GOSPEL CHOIR
Under the leadership of Leotha Stanley and his wife, Tamera Stanley, the Mount Zion Gospel Choir (below) has been a part of the MSO Christmas concerts since 2005. The choir is primarily comprised of members from Mount Zion Baptist Church and includes representatives from other churches as well. The choir has traveled extensively throughout the Midwest and has journeyed to Europe, singing in France and Germany.
The Symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations.
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.
More information about A Madison Symphony Christmasis found here: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas/.
Tickets for A Madison Symphony Christmascan be purchased in the following ways:
- Single Tickets are $18-$93 each and are on sale August 18 at https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/buy-tickets/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/buy-tickets/group-discounts/
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/buy-tickets/offers-discounts/
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Flex-Ticket booklets of 10 vouchers for 2018-19 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding for the holiday concert is provided by: American Printing, Fiore Companies, Inc., Nedrebo’s Formalwear, Maurice and Arlene Reese Family Foundation, BMO Harris Bank, Hooper Foundation/General Heating & Air Conditioning, Judith and Nick Topitzes, and An Anonymous Friend. Additional funding provided by Colony Brands, Inc., J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Flad Architects, Forte Research Systems & Nimblify, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., and Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Community Carol Sing is presented in partnership with Overture Center for the Arts.
Tags: #BaptistReligion, #BerlinGermany, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BMOHarrisBank, #BoxOffice, #CanadianOperaCompany, #CarnegieHall, #CeciliaViolettaLopez, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianReligion, #ChristmasCarol, #ChristmasDay, #ChristmasMusic, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DonPasquale, #EthnicDiversity, #EuropeanDebut, #FacebookPost, #FladArchitects, #FranzSchubert, #Fridaynight, #GaetanoDonizetti, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgeLondon, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GospelMusic, #Handel'sMessiah, #HolidayCarol, #HolidaySeason, #J.H.Findorff, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnDeMain, #JohnRutter, #LaTraviata, #LawFirm, #LeothaStanley, #LyricOperaofChicago, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MinnesotaOpera, #MountZionBaptistChurch, #MountZionGospelChoir, #MusicalStyle, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NationalSymphony, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NorthAmerica, #OperaIdaho, #OperaNews, #OperaSinger, #OperaTampa, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PublicPerformance, #RetirementCenter, #RichardTucker, #SanFranciscoCalifornia, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SantaClaus, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #SingAlong, #SopranoSinger, #StaatsoperBerlin, #StateOfWisconsin, #Sundayafternoon, #SunPrairieWisconsin, #TameraStanley, #TampaFlorida, #TheMet, #TraditionalMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViriginiaOpera, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinPublicTelevision, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, #ZurichSwitzerland, acclaimed, air, anonymous, Arts, audience, Bach, bank, Baptist, Baptist religion, baritone, Baroque, bass, bass-baritone, Belgium, Berlin, Beverly Taylor, blog, BMO Harris Bank, box office, Canada, Canadian Opera Company, Carnegie Hall, Cecilia Violetta Lopez, Chicago, choral music, Christian religion, Christmas and holiday season, Christmas Carol, Classical music, community, composer, conductor, debut, December, discount, Don Pasquale, donor, Early music, ethnic diversity, Europe, Facebook, feeling, Flad Architects, Florida, France, Franz Schubert, Friday night, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, George London, Germany, gospel, gospel music, hat, heart, holiday carol, holiday season, Idaho, international, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, John DeMain, John Rutter, Joy, joyous, La Traviata, law firm, learning, Leotha Stanley, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Mead Witter School of Music, Messiah, Metropolitan Opera, Midwest tour, Minnesota Opera, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Mount Zion Gospel Choir, Mozart, Music, Music director, Music education, musical style, National Endowment for the Arts, National Symphony, NEA, New Music, New York City, North America, opera, Opera Idaho, Opera News, opera singer, Opera Tampa, Orchestra, Overture Center, Overture Hall, performer, public, public performance, Retirement, Richard Tucker, San Francisco Symphony, Santa Claus, Saturday night, senior, senior citizen, sing-along, singer, social, soloist, soprano, sponsor, Staatsoper Berlin, star, State of Wisconsin, Student, Sunday afternoon, Switzerland, symphony, Tamera Stanley, Tampa, Television, the Met, ticket, time, traditional, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Verdi, Viola, Violin, Virginia, Virginia Opera, vocal music, volunteer, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WPR, WPT, year, YouTube, Zurich
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Weekends are a good time to explore music and listen to it. So today The Ear starts a “2020” series for the new year.
6 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s a new year and the first weekend of the new year. And The Ear wanted to find some kind of organizing principle to explore recorded music in the coming weeks and months.
Turns out the year 2020 – with its symmetry of numerals and suggestions of excellent vision — held a certain appeal.
So he checked out musical works that were either Op. 20 or No. 20. They could even occur together, like, say, a Prelude that is Op. 20, No. 20.
What he found was more than he expected: Dozens of composers and works that qualify as interesting and of suitable quality.
Some are well known, but many are rarely performed live or are neglected in recordings.
They come from all periods and styles, from early music to contemporary music.
And they come in all kinds of genres from vocal and choral music to chamber music, solo instrumental music and symphonic music.
Some works are short, some are medium and some are long.
For the longer ones, which are often divided up into smaller movements or other sections, it seems better to post the whole piece and let the reader decide how long they want to listen at a time rather than to post one part at a time and limit or force the reader.
Anyway, here is the first installment.
It is a wonderful solo piano piece that is too often overlooked, even though it is by a great composer who wrote it in his prime when he was writing many of his other more popular piano works.
It is the Humoresque, Op. 20, by the German Romantic composer Robert Schumann (below). It lasts about 29 minutes but is divided into other sections.
And the performance, often praised as outstanding or even definitive, is by the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu (below, young and old, the latter by Roberto Serra), the 1966 first prize-winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition who recently retired because of ill health.
Here is a link to a detailed biography of the distinguished and somewhat reclusive and enigmatic 74-year-old pianist:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radu_Lupu
Here is YouTube video of Radu Lupu playing the Schumann Humoresque in a live recording from 1983:
Let The Ear know what you think of this piece and this idea for a 2020 series.
A long playlist for future 2020 postings – including works by Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and others — has already been compiled.
But if you have a favorite or suggested “2020” piece, leave word in the comment section.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstPrize, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #IllHealth, #InstrumentalMusic, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MusicalStyle, #NewMusic, #NewYear, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoMusic, #RaduLupu, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, 2020, Antonín Dvořák, Antonio Vivaldi, appeal, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, biography, blog, Brahms, certain, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, Classical music, coming, comment, Compact Disc, compile, composer, composers, Concert, contemporary, distinguished, dozens, Dvorak, Early music, enigmatic, excellent, expect, Facebook, favorite, first prize, force, forward, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, future, genre, German, Germany, great, Haydn, Health, Humoresque, ill health, installment, instrumental, interesting, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, like, limit, link, live, long, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, medium, month, movement, Mozart, Music, musical style, New Music, New Year, number, numeral, opera, opus, Opus number, Orchestra, organize, others, outstanding, performer, period, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, piano music, playlist, popular, post, posting, Prelude, prime, qualify, quality, Rady Lupu, reader, reclusive, recording, retire, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Schubert, share, short, small, solo, Sonata, style, suggestion, symmetry, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, time, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Viola, Violin, vision, Vivaldi, vocal music, week, weekend, whole, Wikipedia, winner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, work, YouTube